Every pastime/profession has a "language" particular to it, and any participant should acquire a level of fluency in said "language."
Bearing the above in mind I now continue with "a glossary for prospective poultry people"!
Carriage: A chicken's posture which is characteristic of its breed and may tend toward the horizontal (as in a New Hampshire) or the vertical (as in a Malay). Carriage also refers to the angle of a chicken's body part, such as its back or tail, with respect to horizontal.
Cervical Dislocation: Killing a chicken by twisting, crushing, or stretching its neck (a.k.a. "wringing").
Chick: A baby chicken until it begins to feather out.
Class: A grouping of breeds for exhibition purposes. The APA (American Poultry Association) groups breeds in classes according to their place of origin (e.g. American Class, English Class, Asiatic Class).
Clean Leg: Having no feathers growing on the legs or feet.
Cloaca: The chamber just inside the vent where the digestive, excretory, and reproductive tracts come together.
When an egg is ready to be laid, the shell gland at the bottom end of the oviduct remains wrapped around the egg while it passes through the cloaca, pressing shut the intestinal opening. As a result a hen cannot lay an egg and poop at the same time.
Clutch: A batch of eggs that are hatched together.
Cobby: Short, round, and compact, like the characteristic shape of Wyandottes, Sebrights, and Japanese bantams.
Coccidiosis: An intestinal disease that interferes with nutrient absorption.
Cockerel: A feathered out male chicken under one year of age.
Comb: A fleshy, crown like protrusion on top of a chicken's head, usually more prominent in cocks than in hens.
Complete Feed: A commercial ration which contains every nutrient needed for a chicken to maintain proper growth and health or production and health.
Condition: A chicken's state of health and cleanliness. A chicken in top condition has a "glowing" quality known as bloom.
Conformation: The body shape of a chicken. There is a set conformation for many breeds in North America listed in a book called The American Standard of Perfection.
Coryza: (a.k.a. infectious coryza) The chicken's equivalent of a cold.
Crop: An expandable pouch at the base of a chicken's neck that bulges with feed after the bird has eaten and where digestive juices begin softening the feed before it moves to the stomach.
Crop Impaction: The lodging of feed in the crop, which continues to swell and stop it up so no feed can pass through. Crop impaction is unlikely to occur in properly feed chickens.
(Continued next week)!
(If you are waiting for more with bated breath it will give you something to look forward to; if you are bored to tears just think of it as a chance to excel in "Trivial Pursuit" if the topic chickens becomes a piece of the pie!)